Advertising and social media have a huge impact on the creation of our self-images. Often we are lead to believe certain things of ourselves or have certain expectations that just aren't realistic, but rather, are a result of photoshopping or editing.

Some ads purposefully attempt to injure our self-image so that we desire their product. Consider this quote from Nancy Shalek, president of an advertising agency: "Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product, you're a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that. If you tell them to buy something, they are resistant. But if you tell them they'll be a dork it they don't, you've got their attention. You open up emotional vulnerabilities and it's very easy to do with kids because they're the most emotionally vulnerable."

Many commonly accepted ideas about appearance-for example, that skin should be blemish free and teeth bright white- are not absolute truths. These expectations were artificially created over a period of years by those who wanted to sell certain kinds of products and promoted the idea that we needed those products if our physical appearance was to be acceptable. 

Take a moment to look at some examples of the impact of advertising on our self image.

Once you have viewed the videos, open your writer's notebook and complete 3.1 Advertisements.